It was a recent memory which came to Riona’s mind too frequently, a past vision which always ended through blurred eyes.

“Of course we’ll still have it at the park,” her husband, Sean, said. He gave their three children a beaming grin. Normally, Sean would have rustled their children’s hair. His smile would have to be enough now, however, as his movements were limited due to the IV in his arm. “And we’ll definitely get a cake from that shop we heard so much about.”

“You mean it?” their youngest, Kenny, who would turn five in only two weeks, said. He bounced on his feet, eyes wide and bright.

“Of course!” Sean said. “What’s a birthday party without cake? And we’ll get you the biggest one they have.”

“Promise?” Kenny said.

“Promise. This little issue can’t get me down. Like I’ve always said…” Sean met Riona’s eyes, his full of confidence, “you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

The memory always skipped the worst of what followed, sparing Riona at least a little pain. Next she saw was a small box, holding the ashen remains of the man she’d loved for more than a decade, the one whom she’d excitedly planned a long future, full of ups and downs, arguments and reconciliations, as well as many twists and turns along the way.

Regardless, Sean had been a core part of all those plans.

“Mommy,” Kenny said, tugging at her hand.

“Oh, yes dear?” Riona said, sniffling and looking down at her little boy.

“Is Daddy still getting the cake?” Kenny said.

Riona sucked a breath through her teeth. Kenny’s birthday party would be in a few days, the party where Sean had given his last promise – and only unbroken one in all the years Riona had known him – to have an awesome cake from a fancy shop a few blocks away. Sean’s funeral had only been the other day. Despite its tiny size, it had been difficult to organize. They had only moved to Yoularnon a few months ago, had no living relatives they kept in touch with, and essentially knew no one in the area.

Not to mention the new stresses at home.

Riona wasn’t used to taking care of three children on her own. Sean’s heart conditions came suddenly, only a few weeks ago. The doctors fast-tracked him to the operating room, where they’d guaranteed the procedure was safe and would let Sean live for many, many years to come.

The liars. They’d taken the love of her life from her and their three children’s father from them. Now Riona was alone to pick up the pieces. Sure, Sean’s life insurance covered the hospital bills, funeral costs, and even much of their home. Riona, however, would have rather lived the rest of her life working off a cruel debt, so long as he was by her side.

And with him no longer there, her eldest child – who was only seven – had thought it a kindness to tell Kenny that their dad was only gone to get the cake. Despite everything she’d said since, Kenny couldn’t get it out of his young head that Sean was still out there, planning his birthday party.

“No, dear,” Riona said, trying to smile as she knelt down next to her youngest, their heads level. “No. He’s not getting the cake. He’s… he’s no longer with us. His body and soul has returned to the Eternal Flame Titans, where he enjoys eternal warmth.”

“But he’s coming back?” Kenny asked.

Riona held in a sob. “No, Kenny. He’s not coming back. He can’t come back.”

Kenny’s face began to morph; he would begin crying soon. “But he promised.”

“And he meant every word of it. Sometimes, bad things happen and there’s nothing we can do about it. But if he could have, he’d be here. And he’d get you that cake and play with you in the park and…”

Riona had to stop. Her voice halted in her throat, for what felt like a stone had lodged itself there. Pressure squeezed behind her eyes. She blinked rapidly.

“And now I can’t have a birthday party?” Kenny asked.

“Oh, no no no,” Riona said, petting Kenny’s brown hair. “We’ll still have the party. We’ll go to the park and have the cake. Don’t you worry.”

Kenny sniffled. “You promise?”

Sean had been so excited for Kenny’s fifth birthday he ordered the cake nearly a month ago already. It wouldn’t be that much of a hassle to swing by the shop before they reached the park.

“I promise,” Riona said.

Which was where the memory ended, dropping Riona back into reality at the park where Kenny and her older two were playing. Several other families filled the other pavilions, but Riona was more or less alone, standing at a table where she had planned on placing the cake.

One which she had completely forgotten to get.

Oh no. Riona allowed her breathing to accelerate. Oh no oh no oh no! How could this happen? How could I forget the one thing Kenny’s been holding on to?

Probably because in the near two weeks since Sean’s death, Riona had maybe a dozen hours of sleep. With preparing Sean’s funeral, continuing to work, taking care of her three young children, and having to lie in her bed without her husband’s warmth beside her, sleep came slowly and with difficulty. Due to that, and the fact that almost everything brought her back to that fateful moment when her world shattered, her mental faculties weren’t up to her usual standard.

It’s okay. Riona began taking slow, deep breaths. It’s okay. We can enjoy our time at the park, then pick up the cake on the way home and eat it there.

But Kenny had really wanted to spend the whole day to enjoy his little party at the park.

He’ll get over it. At least he’ll get the cake eventually.

Other children were playing around the area, but Riona’s three kept to themselves. They hadn’t really made friends with anyone in Lower School yet and only seemed to stick closer together after what happened to their father. Likely to stick away from the other children, whose parents from various families talked and laughed as they watched over them, Riona’s three ran from view.

Riona kept her glances away from the many happy couples in the other pavilion, a pang of pain hollowing her heart. She then wandered from the pavilion and walked around the perimeter of the playground to get an eye on her children, forcing a calm expression. If her children saw her, she wouldn’t want them to see her anxiety of forgetting the cake.

“Sweet,” a nearby young muscular man said.

He wore strange attire for the middle of winter – only a red sleeveless vest and cargo shorts – and had Nichugoan folded eyes and jet black hair. He walked next to an orange-haired young woman who also wore a little too, well, little for winter with only a blue sports bra and high-waisted jean shorts. Though, the woman had a red blanket draped over her shoulder, so she likely used that in case she got a little too cold. They were also near the perimeter of the playground, angled slightly toward the larger park before them where many dogs were running and hopping around.

“So a couple more small jobs and we’ll be good to go.”

The young woman nodded. “If we can get a few more while making our way to the hospital, we won’t need to worry about credits. And I think I found our next possible clients.”

Riona blinked. Getting random jobs around the city? These two couldn’t possibly be…?

Riona’s heart soared. On the Nichugoan man’s upper left arm was a black, swirling tattoo representing a stylized campfire: the Mark denoting a Flame Dancer.

It couldn’t be. Had the Eternal Flame Titans above sent a solution to her problems? Were these two guildmembers, she could hire them to go fetch Kenny’s cake. She wouldn’t have to worry about ruining her boy’s fifth birthday for him, or hear how upset he’d be to not have the cake in the park!

She hurried to them, though reverently kept her head down. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she began talking to them. It was only made more confusing when they revealed themselves not as members of Nourishing Fields – Yoularnon’s guild – but as the two people who were forming Talam’s first traveling guild.

Throughout her mourning, Riona had become aware of two local bishops – Jada from the Supporters and Diego from the Autonomous – running into trouble at a mine near Linick. Two members of an interim, nameless guild had aided them. Some reports said the bishops only lived because of those two. What opportune – and undeserved – luck she had to run into them!

Riona had been bashful about her request after learning that, but they coaxed it out of her. Blessedly, they agreed, and their price was only a piece of cake for each of them! They claimed they would get the cake after they finished a dog-walking job they were in the middle of, so she provided them with the order number and walked to her kids, who were laughing on the swings.

For the first time since before Sean’s sudden deterioration, Riona found a small smirk on her lips. It was nice, having someone to help her again, even if it was so small as picking up cake for a birthday party.

So Riona allowed herself to play with her kids, embracing their joy and seeming to melt from the relief.

Riona sat in the shade of the pavilion, catching her breath after playing with her children. Their endless energy had been easier to handle with Sean taking turns playing and allowing her to rest. On her own, she felt her little ones would make her heart beat straight out of her chest.

Though, that wasn’t the only reason her heart was palpitating. The Wielders had left the park over an hour ago with the eight dogs under their charge. That should have been plenty of time for them to drop the dogs off, pick up the cake, and bring it back by now.

They wouldn’t have forgotten about her, would they?

No, they couldn’t have. They were Wielders, ones who’d helped local bishops. They wouldn’t forget about her.

Then did something bad happen to them?

Riona opened the web on her wristband and scrolled the local events page on the news. Her hastened heart seemed to freeze as a notification that yet another car-bombing occurred fifteen minutes ago. So many had threatened the city over the last month from the once-benign terrorist organization Serene. None had been too close to Riona or her family before, but this latest bombing happened on the street where the bakery was located!

Could the Wielders have gotten caught up in the chaos? If they had, they’d surely have prioritized the bombing over her son’s birthday cake.

Riona hung her head in defeat. It was a silly thing, really, to stress over a glorified dessert when lives were at stake. Yet the way Kenny’s eyes watered, his lips quivering, at the thought of not having it, like yet another of his father’s promises would be broken had the confection not arrived, drove out any concern she might have for anyone else.

Please, any Titan out there. Riona squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her hands together. Please, just let my boy –

“Hey!” an excited voice called.

Riona’s head snapped up. The Nichugoan Flame Dancer ran toward her, carrying a large white box.

“Cake!” Kenny, from atop a slide, called.

Her children slid down and ran behind the Wielder, unable to catch up even as they dashed their little legs out. The Flame Dancer set the cake down on the table before Riona, his breath only a little labored.

Her children started chanting “cake” loudly as they joined, practically bouncing around the table. Riona smiled, yet not all the anxiety fled her chest. The Flame Dancer had been running really fast. Was the cake okay?

“Here you go,” the Flame Dancer said, opening the box’s top.

Riona breathed a laugh which almost turned into a sob. The cake was pristine; it was large, way too large for her little family of four to eat by themselves in a reasonable – or health-conscious – amount of time, and it depicted an action sequence of Kenny’s favorite cartoon, where the hero was punching the villain nearly off-screen.

It was strange. With the hero’s dark brown hair and chiseled chin, he almost looked like Sean.

“Thank you so much,” Riona croaked. “But… where’s the Wave Leaper?”

“Oh, right, yeah,” the Flame Dancer said. “We, uh, got a little busy. Actually, I gotta head back there. Enjoy the cake!”

“Wait!” Riona called, stopping the Flame Dancer mid swerve. It was louder than she’d intended; even heads from the neighboring pavilion turned to see them. “Sorry, but your payment. You can’t leave without having any.”

The Flame Dancer looked away, awkward. “I can’t spend the time to do that. I need to….”

Riona must have made a face, as he froze when he looked back at her. His black eyes bored into hers to the point where she had to glance away. They were so intense.

“Can I pray for you?” he asked.

Riona started. “Wh-what?”

Her children ceased their bouncing, the two older ones looking back and forth between Riona and the Wielder. Kenny, however, had eyes only for the cake.

“I’d like to pray for you,” the Flame Dancer said. “And your family. Can I?”

Riona’s lips quivered. She couldn’t speak, so she only nodded.

The Flame Dancer leaned forward, hovering over the cake. “What, if you’re able to tell, am I praying for?”

“For…” Riona cleared her throat. “For my children’s health. And that they can make a lot of friends here, since we recently moved. And for… my husband, whose soul went to the Eternal Warmth about two weeks ago.”

A sympathetic sorrow shone in the Flame Dancer’s eyes. His lips firmed. “Can I get everyone’s names?”

“Oh, right,” Riona said. “How rude of me. I’m Riona. This is Jathan, Ellen, and Kenny. My husband’s name is Sean.”

 “Thank you. Everyone, please sit.”

Without hesitation, Riona’s eldest two sat across from her, while Kenny plopped down to her right. The Flame Dancer removed the cake from the box, pulled out a pack of candles that came with it, then placed five atop the cake. Three of them surrounded the hero, though none marred his face.

“By the Flames,” the Wielder said, placing his hand over the cake, palm facing up. A small fire danced to life. “The ones that purify the wicked, but bring comfort to the worthy. The ones the Eternal Flame Titans above tend so they never go out. Enrich my mortal fire, so that it can become divine.”

It might have been a trick of her eyes, which were beginning to water, but Riona swore a golden spark flickered in the midst of the waving orange and red. Then, the flame split into six smaller pieces, one remaining in his palm while five others crawled away from the Wielder’s hand until they fluttered atop his fingertips.

“To Phohoeno, Guardian from On High,” the Flame Dancer said, lowering his hand toward the candles, “please watch over and guide Jathan… Ellen… and Kenny through life.” As he said their names, he placed his pinky, then ring, then middle fingers atop a candle’s wick, transferring the tiny flames to them. “Lead them to life-long friendships and fun times. Challenge them to grow stronger and learn. And for the problems that are too much for them to bear, give them hope and the strength to let others aid them through it.

“To Galsolo, Creator and Lord of the Sun.” The Flame Dancer dipped his pointer finger onto the candle nearest the face of the cartoon hero. “Embrace Sean into your heavenly majesty. Provide him eternal warmth and comfort, give him rest and relaxation to enjoy his never-ending life, and allow him a space where he can look down on his family and see with pride how they live their passions to the fullest and thrive in this difficult world. And please, Lord, let Sean’s presence felt by his family, so they can know that he… that he never truly left.”

The Flame Dancer’s last words came in a struggle. His eyes sparkled in his little firelight, glimmering in what looked like forming tears. Maybe that look he’d given her earlier hadn’t been sympathy, but empathy. Yet now a passionate earnestness blazed in the black, a gaze so genuine it brought her back to the first time she’d seen such a look.

It had been thirteen years ago, in Upper School, a few months after Riona and Sean had started dating. Her mother had recently died in a train accident and Riona had shunned the world. She ignored her father, her friends, and even Sean. Her mother had always taught her to be strong, independent, and not need anyone’s help when she struggled. Return to friends and loved ones once she’d figured out her issues, so they would never see the weak side of her.

Yet Sean wouldn’t let her. With Riona’s father’s permission, Sean had come into her room, where she had been curled in the corner. She was unwashed, hadn’t eaten that day, and had been crying just minutes before he entered.

She’d screamed at him to go away, that she’d start throwing stuff if he didn’t, and even threatened to break up with him. The argument ended as he knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Even if you break up with me, I’ll still be here,” Sean had said. “There’s nothing you can do that will make me stop supporting you, or being there for you, or with you.”

Riona looked up at him. Despite her blurred sight, his earnestness radiated like the sun.

“I won’t stop you from being you,” Sean said. “I won’t do everything for you. But whatever hurts you, I’ll be there with you, to live it with you, and to love you the whole time. Even in your lowest days, I’ll be there. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

In a blink Riona was back in the pavilion, looking at the Wielder leaning over her son’s birthday cake. Yet for a flash, he didn’t stand alone.

Wisps of a golden light formed a figure, which had one hand on Kenny’s shoulder and a face toward Riona. In that briefest of moments, Sean’s joyous grin blessed her sight again.

Even when the flash was over and the light melded into the candlelight, the new warmth remained.

Riona let tears stream down her cheeks.

“And to Zahlfo, the Enduring,” the Flame Dancer continued, dropping the light from his thumb onto the candle closest to Riona. “Give Riona the strength to let her feel her pain and endure it through the years so she can carry on. And in moments when that pain spikes, grant her the strength to cherish the reason why she’s so hurt, and turn to those who give her more reasons to feel that joy anew.”

The Flame Dancer stood tall and looked around the table. “And thank you, all Three Great Flame Lords, and any other Eternal Fire Titan lending an ear, for already beginning to work on this family.”

The Flame Dancer clenched his left palm, snuffing out the remaining flame and ending the prayer.

Silence settled over the table. Riona’s eldest two sniffled as they cried, as well. Only Kenny didn’t cry, but he no longer beamed and bounced as he looked at the cake. His smile, though more reserved, never faltered.

“Thanks, Daddy,” Kenny mumbled, touching the shoulder she’d seen the golden light hold.

Fresh tears left Riona’s eyes. She grabbed her youngest in a one armed hug, her hand resting on that shoulder.

It was warm.

“Thank you,” Riona said.

The Flame Dancer blinked a couple times, then he beamed. “It was nothing. Have a happy birthday, Kenny. I’ll be thinking of you and your family.”

“But, the cake,” Riona said as the Flame Dancer turned to leave again.

The Flame Dancer stopped, chuckled, then dipped a finger into a small dollop of icing at the bottom corner of the cake. He licked the bit of vanilla that he scooped and smiled.

“Delicious,” the Flame Dancer said. “Flames’ Warmth comfort you.”

“And you, Wondrous Flame Dancer,” Riona said, bowing as low as she could without dipping her head into the cake.

And like that, he ran off. Riona prompted her children to yell their thanks, to which he waved at them after turning around real quickly, and then he was gone. A greater peace and joy settled over them as they began eating. The Flame Dancer was right. Sean’s boasts about this bakery were right. It was delicious.

“Excuse me,” one of the women from the other pavilion said after Riona got up to find some water for her kids. She stood at the edge of Riona’s mostly barren pavilion and shuffled awkwardly.

“Hello?” Riona said. “What can I help you with?”

“Oh, nothing like that,” the woman said. “I, uh, I couldn’t help but overhearing the prayer of that Flame Dancer.”

“Oh.”

The woman’s face flushed. “I’m so sorry. It’s not every day a Wielder joins a birthday party. I was so curious. I didn’t know I was intruding on something so private. Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m being rude. My name’s Hilda. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Riona. I feel the same.”

“So, okay, feel free to say no, but we’re also having a birthday party. My niece turned five a couple days ago and today was the best time to get together. You could join us, if you want. Have a merged birthday party, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Oh, you can think about it, of course. My sister also thought she recognized you. Do you send your kids to St. Bernard’s Lower School?”

Riona blinked. “Uh, yes. I do.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! That means your little boy and my niece are classmates. And you probably live in the area, too. If you need anything, anything at all, you tell us, alright?” Hilda grabbed one of Riona’s hands. “Even if you have a support network, it never hurts to have more people in your corner. And with your recent tragedy, I know we would love to help wherever we could.”

It was difficult to believe. It felt almost too good to be true. Yet her discomfort of talking with strangers and dislike of relying on others were weak at the moment. The warmth she’d felt earlier from the prayer suffused her as she stared into Hilda’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Riona said, lips trembling. “I really need some help right now.”

“Then bring your family over,” Hilda said, “and let us share the burden with you.”